The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

What’s in a name? For two Cash Princes, at least 100 cents – both Travi$ Scott and A$AP Rocky have adopted a dollar sign stylized moniker. But does having a dollar sign in their name boost or detract from their earning potential?

For New York rapper-turned-reverend Ma$e, it certainly didn’t seem to hurt. His 1997 debut, Harlem World, sold over 270,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 1 on the Billboard Pop and R&B LP charts. M-A-dollar sign E, one of the first to make the greenback part of hisidentity, consistently fared well on the charts even after he became a pastor – his next record sold 107,000 copies while his post-hiatus Welcome Back went gold.

Along with West Coast hip-hop pioneer Too $hort, Ma$e inspired a series of dollar names, some of which appear on our inaugural Hip-Hop Cash Princes list.

“I did it just because of Ma$e,” producer and rapper Travi$ Scott told FORBES. “I go in between it everyday because there’s so many rappers with that [dollar sign] but I just felt like it looks fresh.”

Fellow Cash Prince A$AP Rocky, who earned an estimated $5 million last year, views himself as something of a trendsetter. Every member of his A$AP Mob collective, formed in 2007, feature monikers with the dollar-stylized “A$AP” precedent including A$AP Ferg, A$AP Twelvy, and A$AP Nast.

“I think ghetto people don’t get the tastemaker side of me and I think hipsters don’t get the reckless side of me,” Rocky told FORBES in September. “And I’m both: I’m like a ghetto hipster.”

Another near miss from the list, Ty Dolla $ign, includes a signified and spelled out dollar in his name, while Curren$y’s nickname encapsulates his home country’s system of exchange. They are joined by fellow up-and-coming rappers Joey Bada$$, Kent M$ney, Ca$h Out, Vinny Cha$e, Cashi$ – the list goes on. And that’s not counting rhymers who have since changed their name: Azealia Banks, the only Cash Princess on the list, began spitting bars under the moniker Miss Bank$.

Whether a dollar sign in a name impacts earning potential remains to be seen. Supporting evidence might include “All Gold Everything” rapper Trinidad Jame$, who reportedly signed a $2 million deal with Def Jam. And let’s not forget pop’s party-girl rhymer, Ke$ha, who has stylized her title with a dollar sign for two chart-topping albums.

The inclusion of a dollar sign in rapper titles is often aspirational. As even a casual listener will attest, much of hip-hop focuses on financial advancement, frequently celebrating monetary success – and consumerist excess.Cash Money Records has a dollar sign as its logo, while label head and Cash Prince judge Birdman even has flaming dollar signs tattooed on himself.

Still, no rapper with a dollar sign in their name has ever made the Hip-Hop Cash Kings list of highest earners. Though the dollar sign seemed to work for chart-topping Ma$e, as yet, the inclusion of a peso mark has yet to pay off for the next generation of rappers. Perhaps they should halve their efforts, and take a note from the wallet of one of hip-hop’s wealthiest artists, 50 cent, who is worth an estimated $125 million.